''Zoids: New Century'', also known by the Japanese title ''Zoids: New Century/Zero''[[note]] read as "New Century Slash Zero"[[/note]], is the second anime in the ''Franchise/{{Zoids}}'' franchise. Originally based on model kit toys, the anime series adds new characters and plot to the toy line, as well as acting as [[MerchandiseDriven thirty minute toy commercials]]. Only [[BroadStrokes vaguely related]] to its nominal predecessor ''Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury'', ''New Century'' avoids ''Chaotic Century'''s dramatic war setting in favor of a TournamentArc flavored series. The heroes take part in [[AnimalMecha zoid]] battles, a futuristic {{Mecha}} version of [[BloodSport gladiator games]] where teams of zoids fight each other for prestige and cash prizes. These battles are overseen by the Zoid Battle Commission, which enforce the rules of the sport via satellite-deployed robot Judges that [[CombatReferee act as referees]] -- whose decisions are backed by the Commission's {{Kill Sat}}s when necessary. Naturally, this doesn't stop the heroes from fighting bandits and other criminals outside the Commission's jurisdiction, or prevent unscrupulous warriors from hijacking matches and forcing legitimate competitors into dangerous "unsanctioned battles".

The series revolves around the Blitz Team, a veteran but relatively low-ranking group of zoid warriors. During a match, they encounter Bit Cloud, a wandering junk dealer who specializes in salvaging parts from zoid battlefields. Bit turns out to be able to pilot the Blitz Team's Liger Zero, a zoid previously impossible to control, and Bit promptly joins the team. The series proceeds from there in grand {{shonen}} style, with the Blitz Team fighting battles, gaining [[TheRival rivals]], learning about the Liger Zero's mysterious nature, and becoming embroiled in the Zoid Battle Commission's conflict with the shadowy [[NebulousEvilOrganization Backdraft Group]].

----!!This series provides examples of:* AlphaStrike: Leena's Gun Sniper was ''built'' for this, capable of firing two [[GatlingGood gatling guns]], two [[MoreDakka triple-barreled machine guns]], four [[BeamSpam heavy beam guns]], and four [[MacrossMissileMassacre missile pods]] simultaneously.* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: The Lightning Team, notable for being the ''only'' team to [[spoiler:defeat the Blitz Team]] during the series.** Their second encounter goes decisively in the opposite direction, however.* AnimationBump: The animation in New Century is the best in the entire Zoids franchise, though a few battles stand out from the rest of the series, such as the Liger Zero vs. the Red Blade Liger, and the Liger Zero vs. the Berserk Fury.* BackToBackBadasses: Well side by side, anyway -- Leon and Bit when they take on the Backdraft Group after their battle is interrupted.* BlackBox: The Liger Zero has one, prompting a baffled reaction from the mechanics that discover it.* BloodSport: They're robots, so there's no actual blood, but that's still basically what zoid battles are.* BroadStrokes: How ''New Century'' treats ''[[Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury Chaotic Century]]''. There's a ContinuityNod here and there, enough to imply that they're definitely in the same continuity, but other than that they're largely unconnected.* BunnyEarsLawyer: Doc Toros. He's childish, naive, and a CloudCuckoolander, but he nevertheless managed to design three full sets of custom armor for the Liger Zero.* ButtMonkey: The Tigers Team, who keep getting slapped down only to return for more punishment. Even ''the judge'' accidentally calls them "the Fuzzy Panda Team". * CallingYourAttacks: Most common with Bit and Liger Zero's various special attacks (most commonly Strike Laser Claw), but others use it as well. Brad usually calls Shadow Fox's Strike Laser Claw, and Leena is fond of announcing "Wild Weasel Unit total assault!" while she [[AlphaStrike fires every weapon in her possession simultaneously]].* CameBackStrong: An Ultimate X Zoid like [[spoiler:Liger Zero or the Berserk Fury]] has this attribute, with Vega telling this the sleeping [[spoiler:Fury]].* ChainsawGood: There was a (rather scary) episode where a gang tries to hack apart Leena's zoid to steal its custom parts with giant, zoid-mounted chainsaws.* ChekhovsGun: Doc Toros mentions at one point that the shield on the Hover Cargo could deflect the shot from a charged particle gun. Then the Berserk Fury shows up...* CombatCommentator: Jamie usually fills this role as the team's tactical planner, but occasionally Dr. Toros or other bystanders chip in instead.* CombatReferee: The Judge and Dark Judge fill these roles, though the Dark Judge doesn't actually do much refereeing.* ContinuityNod: Several to ''[[Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury Chaotic Century]]''.** The Backdraft Group reuse the magnetic field poles seen in ''Chaotic Century'' once or twice.** Moonbay's Gustav appears in the background of episode 23, complete with the single white replacement armor panel and the booster rockets that make it visually unique by the end of ''Guardian Force''.** In the final episode, the charged particle cannon used by the Backdraft Group to [[spoiler:destroy the judge satellites]] is the tail of the Death Stinger, the major threat from the second half of ''Guardian Force''. In addition, the final battle between the Liger Zero and the Berserk Fury takes place on top of the wreckage of the gravity cannon-equipped Ultrasaurus from ''Guardian Force'''s finale.* TheDeterminator: Harry Champ in [[StalkerWithACrush his quest]] to woo Leena, ''oh so much''!* EmpathicWeapon: Liger Zero seems to be unique in that it can respond to Bit and operate autonomously, in addition to not having allowed anyone to pilot it until Bit arrived* EveryManHasHisPrice: The Blitz Team is regularly offered multiple times the normal prize money in order to persuade them to accept battle invitations. Harry Champ and Dr. Laon use it to get the Blitz Team in particular to accept challenges, while the Backdraft Group uses it as incentive for teams to fight them rather than run away when they take over a battle. Dr. Toros even uses it on his own team at least once, offering them extra pay to fight battles they normally wouldn't.* {{Facefault}}: Happens to the Tigers Team early in the [[TournamentArc Royal Cup]]. Newly renamed the Zaber Fangs, the Judge accidentally announces them as the [[RunningGag Fuzzy Pandas Team]], prompting their ''zoids'' to facefault... which freezes their combat systems. While the pilots scream bloody murder, the Judge quickly declares the Blitz Team the winners and retreats to his judge capsule.* {{Fanservice}}: There are at least a number of scenes where the characters are [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]], [[ModestyTowel wearing towels]], or in bikinis, not to mention the number of women wearing [[LatexSpaceSuit very form fitting battle uniforms]] and [[MaleGaze lingering shots of their]] [[BoobsOfSteel well-developed busts]] throughout the series. Then there's [[MsFanservice Naomi]]...* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Bit, the HotBlooded SpiritedCompetitor, is sanguine; Leena, the [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]] {{Tsundere}} BloodKnight, is choloric; Brad, a ConsummateProfessional mercenary who [[AloofAlly maintains that he's not really part of the team]], is melancholic; and Jamie, the NiceGuy and team strategist who is [[ExtremeDoormat constantly overshadowed by his more aggressive teammates]], is phlegmatic.* FreezeFrameBonus: In episode 11, when the Blitz Team is checking their pilot rankings at the zoid trials, all of the names that bump Bit off the leaderboard are famous guitarists.* ImprobableHairstyle: What exactly are those huge rods ''floating'' above Leena's head? Other than a stand-in for ExpressiveHair, anyway.* InsufferableGenius: Vega comes off this way at first, though as a ChildProdigy zoid warrior rather than being generally intelligent.* {{Irony}}: Leena's favored combat method is the AlphaStrike, which works well with her Dibison and its [[MoreDakka sixteen cannons]]. Her MidSeasonUpgrade, however, was a Gun Sniper -- a zoid know for precision attacks more than volume of fire. Leena has hers modified with a ''ton'' of extra weapons, which she delights in firing all at once... [[ComicallyMissingThePoint except the build-in sniper rifle]], which she's never shown using.* LimitedWardrobe: Of a sort. Most characters get at least two outfits: a "casual" one that's their normal day-to-day wear, and a "piloting" one that they use when going into battle. Main characters also get a "swimwear" outfit during the BeachEpisode and HotSpringsEpisode, and a "sleepwear" outfit seen when they get woken up in the middle of the night.* LoveAtFirstSight: Benjamin's odd love for that one "special Judge"; {{Hand Wave}}d with some TechnoBabble about their similar identification frequencies.* MechaExpansionPack: Most noticeable with the Liger Zero and its [[TransformingMecha armor components]], but other examples such as Harry's Dark Horn and Leena's Gun Sniper also exist -- we just never see those zoids ''without'' their expansion packs.* {{Manchild}}: The Doc is alarmingly childish for the nominal leader of the team. He loves playing with [[ProductPlacement models of zoids]] (and sometimes prefers that to paying attention to actual matches), and has a tendency to judge the value of things based on how cool they are. (The Blitz team ended up with both the Liger Zero and its {{Mecha Expansion Pack}}s because the Doc thought they were awesome, rather than for practical reasons.)* MidSeasonUpgrade: The Gun Sniper for Leena, the Raynos for Jamie, the Blade Liger for Leon, and the Shadow Fox for Brad. Notably, Brad, TheLancer, is the last to get an upgrade. Quite as notably, Jamie's was forced upon him.* MoreDakka: Basically Leena's combat philosophy.* MultiformBalance: Liger Zero's various versions. The Zero armor is the JackOfAllStats, the Jager armor is a FragileSpeedster, the Panzer armor is a MightyGlacier, and the Schneider armor is a GlassCannon.* NebulousEvilOrganisation: The Backdraft Group. They seem to be primarily a gambling ring that caters to rich, powerful clients who enjoy "high stakes" battles with no safety rules -- but then, how does overthrowing the Zoid Battle Commission fit in to that?* NobodyCanDie: Despite dealing with giant robot {{Blood Sport}}s in mecha that equip {{Wave Motion Gun}}s and are capable of {{Macross Missile Massacre}}s, ''and'' dealing with certain villains that are actively disdainful of the usual rules for pilot safety, no one in the series is ever injured past the point of becoming a BandageMummy for a few scenes, much less actually killed. Hell, not even the ''zoids'' get that badly damaged -- they are only about three examples of a zoid being damaged beyond repair in the entire series.* PityTheKidnapper: When Leena is kidnapped by the Backdraft Group. Their video call ransom demand is repeatedly interrupted by Leena fighting with her captors, and she eventually escapes (thoroughly trashing their base in the process) on her own anyway. Polta, the one negotiating the call, puts them on hold to subdue her during it, and returns visibly worse for the wear and without any actual success.* PlankGag: Combining this with a CoincidentalDodge enables Bit to unintentionally rescue Naomi Fluegel from two thugs by brutalizing them with a large pipe. He's confused as to why they are unconscious afterwards. [[ObfuscatingStupidity Maybe]].-->'''Naomi''': (Is this guy totally zoned out or did he do [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DVvYrOQMks all that]] on purpose?)* RamenSlurp: Doctor Layon and the Tigers Team both do this occasionally.* RankInflation: Teams in the Zoid Battle Commission are divided into "classes" to prevent mismatches; teams can only challenge other teams within their class. The classes are alphabetical ("B" class is higher than "C" class, with "A" class higher than that), except for the highest, "S" class -- which cannot be earned by normal means, but is only available to winners of the prestigious Royal Cup tournament.* SelectiveObliviousness: Harry is entirely incapable of noticing the fact that Leena has zero romantic interest in him, no matter how obvious it is to everyone else.* SplitPersonality: Jamie and his alter ego, the Wild Eagle.* StockFootage: Obvious in the OncePerEpisode TransformationSequence, but it's also evident in many of the fights, especially against certain zoid types. ** Taken even further with Leon's Blade Liger, with its movements and attacks being practically identical to [[Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury Van's]]... even down to the camera angles.* SuperPrototype: The Liger Zero and the Berserk Fury, as Ultimate X zoids, both count. The Shadow Fox is a more typical example, a highly advanced [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup unique]] machine built by Dr. Laon.* TournamentArc: The entire series can be said to be one, but the Royal Cup at the end of the series definitely counts.* TheAdventureContinues: The series ends with the Blitz Team [[spoiler:having won the Royal Cup]] and presumably continuing on much as they have been for the entire series.* ThemeMusicPowerUp: "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjK0HusMU7Y Strike Laser Claw]]", which generally plays whenever Bit is about to tear someone apart with the same attack, or the ultimate attack of whichever MechaExpansionPack he happens to be using at the time. Also, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HseBOXB5vlY Zero Schneider]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcwjiufBlRA Zero Jager]]"* ToBeAMaster: Though individual characters have individual goals, the various teams' collective goals boil down to "win more zoid battles".* TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty: The Backdraft Group have absolutely no issues whatsoever with using underhanded tactics in order to win the battles against other groups.